May 2013 Archives

Phil Hannon, Maalik Walker and their Minooka teammates will board a bus at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday for the 250-mile trek (one way) to play O'Fallon in a sectional final on the Panthers' home floor.(Sun-Times photo by Richard Hein)

Just asking.

If the IHSA has no problem with sending a team on a 500-mile round trip on a Tuesday to play a sectional final, what possible problem would it have sending teams, oh say, on a 60-mile roundtrip from Orland Park to Oak Park or an 80-mile roundtrip from 99th and Pulaski to Bartlett for regional or sectional play to create a more equitable playoff system?

And if travel is such an issue, why not have the deep south representatives come up to Hoffman Estates for a "play-in" game the Thursday before the state quarterfinals, so if they win they could just stay in the area to play Friday, and if they lose they could at least stick around to watch the quarterfinals the next day before re-boarding the bus?

Money can't be the issue. Teams travel all over to play in weekend tournaments. Warren plays at the Lincoln-Way East tournament. Brother Rice plays at Wheaton Warrenville South. Sandburg plays at Buffalo Grove. Glenbrook North plays at Brother Rice. Belleville East played at Lincoln-Way East.

And if you are not going to create a more equitable system prior to the state finals, at least make the state finals more equitable by seeding the final eight teams. A potential Minooka vs. Lincoln-Way East/North quarterfinal? Really?

Make too much sense?

Just asking.

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Here's a look at how the sectional finals would have shaped up had all the top seeds advanced, and how the tournament has played out thus far:

Vernon Hills and Buffalo Grove played a memorable sectional semifinal Friday with the Cougars advancing thanks to a 21-25, 25-21, 32-30 win. Vernon Hills (32-6) rallied from a 23-20 deficit in Game 3 to reach the sectional finals against Deerfield.

"We just about gave up our chance at this one with all the errors, both serving and attacking," Vernon Hills coach Chris Curry said. "Buffalo Grove wouldn't let us get in a rhythm, but the kids kept their heads together and found just enough late."

Vernon Hills trailed 23-20 in the third game when junior setter Ryan Opitz found Lem Turner for a couple of huge kills, junior Max Spiglanin made two remarkable digs, and Mike Heinz got three kills late as well as putting on great pressure from the service line.

Chris Edwards was perfect passing down the stretch and Dylan DeBoer tossed in two aces as well.

"We got just enough good play late to get us past a tough Buffalo Grove squad," Curry said.

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Junior-dominated Lake Park is a team to watch in 2014, if not this weekend. The Lancers (25-12) defeated St. Charles East, 25-15, 25-17, in the Friday's sectional semifinals to advance to Tuesday's sectional final against Upstate Eight Conference for St. Charles North.

Senior Dillon Hock led Lake Park with eight kills, junior Sean Moore had seven kills and six blocks, junior Shawn Fritsche had three kills, six blocks and an ace, and junior Quin Krisik had 21 assists, three aces and two blocks.

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Two girls from Lake Zurich recently verbally committed. Setter Kristen Walding has committed to D-1 Northeastern University (Boston) and hitter Sydney Glover has committed to play at D-1 Duquesne University (Pittsburg).

A camp for girls in grades 2-8 will be held in the morning on Monday-Thursday, June 10-13 and in the afternoon on Monday-Thursday, July 15-18. A camp for girls in grades 8 and 9 will be held Monday and Tuesday, July 1-2, and a camp for girls in grades 9-12 will be held Monday-Thursday, July 15-18.

You don't want to be caught napping when the boys state volleyball tournament gets underway Monday.

There's no such thing as "retirement" in coaching.

After amassing a record of 246-50 as the boys head coach at Sandburg with eight straight regionals and an Elite Eight appearance, coach David Vales decided to step away from coaching in the spring.

Or so he thought.

After coaching the girls in the fall, Vales went on to coach his two sons and daughter in basketball and volleyball at Landmark Christian Academy in Palos Heights. He currently is coaching his son's baseball team as well.

So much for taking the spring off from coaching.

"I'm realizing how fast time goes by and I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world," Vales said. "I still follow the boys' program, but coach (Sean) Airola is the one staying up late after a tough loss or preparing for the next opponent."

Now Vales can sleep easier, but still gets no rest.

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Richmond-Burton's Ali Frantti, Molly Haggerty of St. Francis, New Trier's Taylor Tashima and Rockford Boylan's Bryanna Weiskircher are among 26 candidates for the USA Youth National Team. The 26 will be pared to 12 after a four-day tryout in Colorado Springs in June.

Those chosen will represent the USA at the FIVB Youth World Championships July 25-August 4 in Thailand.

***Samantha Pethokoukis, a 6-1 junior middle hitter at Fenwick, has verbally committed to play her college ball at Division I Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. Last fall, the Siena Saints won 21 matches and reached the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) finals before losing to top-seeded Fairfield.

A camp for girls in grades 2-8 will be held in the morning on Monday-Thursday, June 10-13 and in the afternoon on Monday-Thursday, July 15-18. A camp for girls in grades 8 and 9 will be held Monday and Tuesday, July 1-2, and a camp for girls in grades 9-12 will be held Monday-Thursday, July 15-18.

"I loved the coaching staff and the team at Wake Forest and I can't wait to join their family," Wolf said. "I loved everything about the school and I can't wait to become a Demon Deacon."

Wolf was a starter on last year's Class 4A championship team, finished third in digs and second in passing rating. Benet finished No. 13 in the nation, according to Prepvolleyball.com.

"Caroline plays with a high level of energy that is contagious to her teammates," Benet coach Brad Baker said. "She is a tireless worker who has set high goals for herself and continues to work hard to achieve them. Her passion for the sport of volleyball is seen in her play and this passion is what is going to continue her on to greatness."

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Zion-Benton's girls varsity volleyball team is looking for a tournament for the fall 2013 season. The Zee-Bees are committed to tournaments on September 6-7, October 12 and October 25-26, but are available on any other weekend during the season.

Anyone looking for a team can contact Jake Carlson, Zion-Benton varsity girls and boys volleyball coach, at (847) 731-9553 or carlsonj@zbths.org.

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In case you missed it last week, here is a day-by-day schedule of every state tournament match in the Chicago area. The schedule assumes that the top seeds will win every match:

Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Schreier celebrates his 500th career win with his children at the Richards tournament. Wife Jennifer was behind the camera, of course.

Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Schreier won his 500th career match when the Tigers defeated St. Laurence 25-15, 25-9 at the Richards tournament Friday. He is the second coach in Illinois to reach 500 wins (Brother Rice coach Paul Ickes got his 500th earlier this season).

Schreier has one record that may never be broken - seven state championships.

Vernon Hills bounced back from a loss in its third pool play match Saturday to defeat Glenbard West 25-23, 25-15 in the semifinals and Highland Park 25-21, 25-16 in the title match.

"It was disappointing that we lost our focus so badly in the third pool play match in the morning," Vernon Hills coach Chris Curry said. "The afternoon really belonged to Mike Heinz (19 kills in the semifinal and championship). His passing was spectacular, too, getting us in system all afternoon."

Vernon Hills also got 21 blocks from Lem Turner Saturday, Max Spiglanin added 38 kills and 35 digs, and Dylan DeBoer had a 9-point service run on Game 1 against Highland Park.

Glenbrook South defeated Glenbard West 25-22, 25-14 for third place; St. Patrick defeated West Chicago for fifth; and Illiana Christian defeated Whitney Young 24-26, 26-24, 25-21 for seventh place.

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Rolling Meadows (26-6) tuned up for its appearance in the Mid-Suburban League championship match at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday by going 5-0 to win the Fremd invitational Saturday.

"In the championship match, we lost the first set badly 10-25," Rolling Meadows coach Tim Piatek said. "In the second set, we were down 11-19 after our second timeout. We rallied back to win that set and squeeze it out in the third set. Our younger players and bench really stepped up today to make it a great day."

Matt Kuzniar led Rolling Meadows on the day with 36 kills, Tim Ellis added 35 kills and 14 blocks, and David Sobkowicz had 21 kills and 14 blocks. Peter Nickle had 70 digs.

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Six-foot-7 junior outside hitter David Wieczorek had 21 kills to lead Loyola (24-3) to an 18-25, 25-23, 25-16 victory over Deerfield as the Ramblers won the Evanston Spring Fling tournament on Saturday.

Nominations are now open for the first Illinois High School Volleyball Coaches Association (IHSVCA) and Illinois Center for Broadcasting Boys All-Star Volleyball Game on Monday, June 3 at Brother Rice High School in Chicago.

Head coaches making nominations for senior players only (IHSA by-law) must be members of the IHSVCA. Coaches are asked to submit the player's name and statistics to Bill Schreier at Wheaton-Warrenville South at william.schreier@cusd200.org by the end of the school day Friday, May 17.

For more information on the game, contact Brother Paul Ickes at Brother Rice at pickes@brrice.org or go to www.leaguelineup.com/ihsvca.

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Making your state tournament plans?

Here is a day-by-day schedule of every match in the Chicago area. The schedule assumes that the top seeds will win every match (of course, we know that doesn't ALWAYS happen). But if the state tournament plays out as seeded, this is how it will look:

Minooka's 6-foot-6 middle hitter Maalik Walker was among the players named to the all-tournament team at Lincoln-Way East.

Everything you need to know about the inequities of the boys state volleyball tournament were on display last Thursday in Aurora.

The Mustangs of Morton were playing the Mustangs of Metea Valley in a nonconference match. Behind the 16-kill performance of Massachusetts Institute of Technology-bound 6-foot-4 senior Martin Krasuski, the host Mustangs defeated the visitors 25-17, 25-23.

The hosts improved to 20-6 with the win, while Morton fell to 10-13.

Now guess which team has the higher seed in its sectional?

If you guessed Morton, you're right.

Morton is the fourth seed in the St. Rita sectional, where barely-.500 Oak Park-River Forest is No. 1, St. Rita is second and Mt. Carmel is third.

"To be honest, there's teams that that should be headed down there that don't get to go there every year," he said. "I think the state really needs to look at going to what they did with girls -- two classes, maybe even four classes. They sure can't say money is the issue.

"Seeing teams perennially be so strong and then have to go through the toughest road to get there and not even get to the sectional, it's not right," he added. "But that's the way the state does things and we have to deal with it.

"Just as a volleyball coach and as a volleyball enthusiast, I wish we had more opportunities for more schools," Hornilla said.

Of course, Hornilla admits his teams benefitted from the disparity in sectional assignments in the past.

"We've been saying this for a lot of years," Hornilla said. "There are teams that are definitely better than us and they don't get to go. But for years before they rearranged the sectionals five years ago, for years we were going out to the meatgrinder in the western suburbs and Oak Park was going in the city.

"We were closer to the city by far," Hornilla added. "That absolutely made no sense. Somebody must have had some influence."

Too bad they can't use that influence to correct the injustices wrought by the state when it comes to sectional assignments.

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Nowhere is the inequity in sectional assignments more blatant than in the south suburbs, where Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way North, Sandburg and Brother Rice are the top four seeds in the Andrew sectional.

Although the Phoenix did not meet the hosts in the finals of the Lincoln-Way East tournament Saturday, North's big win over Minooka might be the lift the Phoenix need heading into state play, especially with the lineup changes they were forced to employ.

"This is good for the guys," said North coach Matt Lawrence, who moved Jake Walenga to libero and used libero Zach Blasgen as an outside hitter. "I think that's just a testament to how much these guys like playing volleyball.

"Zach is always asking to play outside, so this opportunity arose for him and he did what we needed him to do," the coach added. "He passed well, played great defense, served well and got some kills every now and then."

Lincoln-Way North also got help from other players like Josh Kim, who can do a little of everything although he is not a year-round volleyball player.

"We had a JV tournament and asked him to set," Lawrence said. "He's just an all-around kid. He's supersmart. He won the talent show at our school. H does so many things well.

"We just got a bunch of good kids on the team," the coach added. "They're smart, they're fun to coach and whatever lineup we go with, they're going to give their best effort."

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Quote of the week: "The last time I played libero, seriously, was never. I play it for club as a joke sometimes, but otherwise no. I absolutely loved it though. I could just focus on passing and playing defense. It's a lot less stressful than playing outside. Your more involved in the game that way (as a hitter), but I think my passing helped us stay in the game. I'm happy we could do without my hitting." - Lincoln-Way North's 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter Jake Walenga, who played libero at the Lincoln-Way East tournament to rest his knees for the state tournament.

Neuqua Valley setter Alex Coyne will play volleyball next year at Division III Dominican University in River Forest. Dominican is adding men's volleyball and the 2013-14 season will be the team's first under coach Dan Ames, owner of Naperville Volleyball Club.

Rolling Meadows (21-6, 8-2) clinched the Mid-Suburban East title for the first time since 1995. The Mustangs' 26-24, 25-13 victory over Wheeling on Tuesday combined with Hersey's 25-22, 25-16 victory over Prospect left Meadows alone atop the division standings.